An Emirates Airline Review

I constantly hear great things about Emirates so I was excited to fly with them for my birthday this year. I flew out of IAD to Phuket, Thailand on a Boeing 777-300ER (77W) with connecting flight in Dubai. There was a long line since it was Monday a lot were flying back to Dubai. The employees at the counter were very robotic. I asked the cost to upgrade to first class and was told since I don’t have any miles it wasn’t possible. They allow for 2 Free Checked bags (50lbs) and only one carry-on item (purse or laptop bag) to not exceed 15lbs. I did not know this. I assumed 1 personal item 1 carryon so I did have to consolidate prior to checking bag. In IAD they weighed carry ons several times before boarding.Seating:

Prior to flight I checked out reviews of the aircraft prior to on seatguru.com . The reviews were right the seats were very tight. I compared it to the Southwest flight I took to DC which appeared to have more room. For the rest of my flights I asked to be moved to bulkhead seats. I’m 5’7 and my knees touched the seat in front. On the flight to Phuket I had the whole front row of bulkhead seats to myself.

Food:

I loved the food and free spirits. Depending on where you are seating they may run out of certain items but as a person that only eats fish and chicken I was able to find something. I had 2 meals and two snacks within the 13 hrs and an example of a snack is a pizza. I felt so full. You can preview the menu before your flight and request a vegan plate. I packed snacks on the carryon but did not need them and could have essentially checked them.

Entertainment:The seats had usb port and several new movies and tv shows. The wi-fi was $1.00 for the entire flight. I talked with others who flew out of JFK and theirs was free. $1.00 did not break the bank J. The wi-fi was good, I was able to post pictures and talk to myself on twitter since I couldn’t sleep :)

Dubai Connect:

The only option for a return flight was with a 23 hr and some change layover so Emirates provided hotel, transportation and food. It has to be requested. Read my full review.

Service:I was not that impressed with gate agents. I had an issue with my return flight where the flight attendant’s son and husband were traveling on a midnight flight and the child screamed and kicked the whole flight. I complained after the flight about this and not being able to upgrade as well as various passengers leaning up against the exit door and Emirates’ response (3 weeks later):

I noted also your dissatisfaction regarding your request for the price to upgrade. Emirates Staff worldwide has had professional customer service training as our goal is to provide the most memorable experience to all of our passengers. Rudeness or neglect from members of staff is in no way tolerated by Emirates. We are concerned about your comment regarding the check in agent attitude, and have forwarded your complaint details to Washington Airport Manager for further review and remedial action as necessary.

Further you advise that one of the crew had a toddler in the flight which did not behave an internal investigation ongoing regarding the matter, Results of internal action taken cannot be divulged, as this information is deemed as confidential.

I would like to assure you that Emirates will never compromise on the comfort and safety of our passengers. However, it is of particular concern that you have felt sufficiently dissatisfied due to other passenger unsafe behavior. While a review of our in-flight log, it did not mention the incident, may we respectfully suggest that, should anything ever happen again, you request the help of the Purser on board. The Purser is the person in charge of all the cabin crew on the flight, and can assist whenever possible, and will be able to better assist and/or record a complaint.

Thank you for allowing us to comment on this matter. We are confident that your experience on this occasion was an isolated one. We do thank you for your patronage in flying Emirates, for your patience during this process, and for allowing us to comment regarding this matter.

I guess I expected more from such an expensive flight but since Dubai is an expensive city maybe my $1,600 (now you can go to Thailand for half of that maybe even a quarter of that) was nothing to them or maybe because this was my first flight with Emirates. Maybe it had something to do with the flights partnership with JetBlue? Whatever it is it left me with extreme buyer’s remorse. Has Emirates gone down? Are the better flights out of JFK on their newer airbuses? Do you think my experience was an isolated one as Emirates basically said whatever? Comment with your experience.

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